Torrington approves $54.2 million bid for sewer plant upgrade

Part of a design presentation by the Water Pollution Control Authority prepared by the city’s consulting engineers, Wright-Pierce.

Part of a design presentation by the Water Pollution Control Authority prepared by the city’s consulting engineers, Wright-Pierce.

Photo: Jackie L. Augat /

Photo: Jackie L. Augat /

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Part of a design presentation by the Water Pollution Control Authority prepared by the city’s consulting engineers, Wright-Pierce.

Part of a design presentation by the Water Pollution Control Authority prepared by the city’s consulting engineers, Wright-Pierce.

Photo: Jackie L. Augat /

Torrington approves $54.2 million bid for sewer plant upgrade

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TORRINGTON — The Water Pollution Control Authority this week approved a bid of more than $54.2 million by local contractor C.H. Nickerson for the city’s sewer plant upgrade.

It was the second round of bidding for the project, after the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection rejected an approved contract from the city because it had missed a filing deadline in March.

The original deadline for the second round of bidding was June 19. It was then extended, at a contractor’s request, to July 10.

Nickerson was the only bidder in the first round, and the second round attracted just one more bidder, Walsh Construction Co., which is based in Chicago and Atlanta. Walsh bid nearly $69 million.

Mayor Elinor Carbone said despite the delay in approving a contract, the results are what matter.

“Nickerson is the foremost expert on water treatment plants. I’m pleased it’s them,” she said. “It’s also a local company, and we like to support them.”

The results of the second bidding process showed that it didn’t discourage contractors from submitting contracts, Carbone said.

“It picked up in the second round,” she said. “More contractors looked at the bidding documents, but only two followed through.”

Ray Drew, the water authority’s administrator, said the winning bid was $4.5 million less than the initial bid in the spring. He said the lower cost is based on several factors, including that Nickerson had more time to compile their documents and they “did significantly more site visits.”

“We’re extremely happy with the bid amount.” he said.

The timeline for construction is now October, Drew said. The start date was initially expected to be late August or early September.

Starting construction just a few months before the winter season won’t be a concern, Drew said. “They work year round.”

The most expensive item in the upgrade is the tertiary building, Drew said. It’s listed in the bidding documents at a cost of $1.3 million. The 26,000 square-foot, three-story building will contain a number of processing systems, he said.

The processing systems will allow the city to meet a state mandate to a decrease in nitrogen and phosphorus in the plant’s treated waste water that’s released into the Naugatuck River.

A reduction in those two chemicals, which primarily come from sewer treatment plants, will support environmental efforts to reduce the effects of low oxygen levels in Long Island Sound. The low oxygen levels are called hypoxia.

The city’s treatment plant routinely meets the state’s general permit requirements for a decrease in nitrogen, Drew said in an earlier interview. But in order to meet the state’s long-range goals, the amount of nitrogen allowed to be released from treatment plants will decrease each year. To reduce nitrogen, Drew said a chemical conversion must take place that changes nitrates to nitrites to nitrogen gas, which is then released into the air.

The water authority participates in a nitrogen reduction program that allows municipalities with low amounts of released nitrogen to sell credits to the Nitrogen Credit Exchange program. Municipalities that don’t meet the requirements can buy credits from the exchange. Drew said Torrington has received $523,000 since 2002 for selling those credits.